Laila's Top 10 Art Books
Women Holding Things is my all time favorite art book of the year. Not only is the style gorgeous, I found myself laughing at all the bizarre ways women were captured holding miscellaneous objects. With a striking cover, Maira Kalman presents a timeless exploration of the intricacies in a woman's life and all the many things we hold, metaphorical and literal. This is a beautiful and moving collection, perfect for any woman with a fondness for art and its storytelling. This will be my new favorite coffee table book.
My second favorite art book of the year! Some of my newfound favorite pieces of art are laying in the pages of this book. Women's history is one of my favorite things to learn about and I’m so glad this book combines fun and funky art with the lost information of the women behind them. Each turn of the page brings striking pieces of work paired with fascinating excerpts on how women's art has evolved in the past 500 years.
Mary Vaux Walcott brings us the most luminous artwork of North American plants and flowers. Each page is absolutely breathtaking, filled with vibrant colors and great composition. This is my favorite botanical art book of the year and it’s amazing for collages or posters, but honestly feels too beautiful to cut up. Each picture needs to be put on display.
This list wouldn't be complete without a Frida Kahlo feature. In this stunning bilingual collection, MFABoston walks us through the life of Frida Kahlo and all her mixed media. There was truly nothing she couldn’t do. This book has one of my favorite covers on the list, with a stunning shade of blue and an eye-catching picture of Frida illuminating the journey ahead into her work and representation of Mexican culture.
As someone who adored Where the Wild Things Are as a kid, I loved this detailed voyage into Maurice Sendak's life and career as one of the most infamous illustrators. This adorable collection walks you through the art of stories like Where the Wild Things Are and more. As an art and illustration lover, seeing the evolution of someone who painted the life of your childhood is magical.
From artistic scenes all the way from the 1600’s until 2022, the tagline of this book is “pictures to restore hope” and it does just that. My favorite medium in this book is the photography. It captures such an intense yet subtle gloom as the focal person in the photo usually displays despair, disbelief, or utter numbness. All of the elements in the pictures come together to create incredible storytelling, whether accidental or intentional. This book has a special ability to make you feel less alone in whatever you’re feeling.
As someone who really enjoyed How to be an Artist, Jerry Saltz has produced a sister book that’s just as good, if not better. He uses his own creativity to inspire others and show that art is for everyone, even those whose inner creative hasn't been awakened yet. In Art Is Life, he celebrates the lives of a wide range of artists, all from different cultures and communities with different styles, techniques, and messages to let us know that art and life are interchangeable.
With a very abstract and eye-catching cover, this is a super cool look into the artistic evolution in Paris, including the works of many talented artists and a timeline of the school of Paris, important studio and museum openings, and historical pinpoints. The artwork ranges from dark and gripping to light and vibrant. A very cool collection.
This book is simply one of the best elemental collections ever. Featuring a range of earthly discoveries such as seashells, stones, flowers, and insects, Collecting Nature will remind you of how you felt as a little kid exploring a new place and picking up rocks and any new thing you could find. It’s a fascinating assortment of nature's coolest things.
Straying a little from art on a canvas, my last favorite art book of the year is all about fashion. From era to era, The Fashion Book encompasses the world of high end fashion with radiant photography of runways, famous actresses, photoshoots, and campaigns. Each turn of a page is a brief transportation into another period of time and how that period was defined by what they wore.